Must-Reads: Mobile Wallets on Fire?

Must-Reads: Mobile Wallets on Fire?

That’s what we said. The latest MasterCard Digital Payments study found that social media is abuzz with talk about digital wallets – at least when new ways to pay are the topic at hand. What other shocking news made headlines this week? Our payments rails might be overdue for an overhaul. McDonald’s looks to speed up with mobile help. PayPal may have goofed with its PayPal Giving Fund charity efforts. And finally, here’s an application for blockchain that might make immediate sense (hint: it’s not a banking application).

EXTRA this week: What would it take to write your own playbook on digital transformation?

The fifth annual edition of the MasterCard Digital Payments study analyzed 3.5 million conversations on social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and found that digital wallets were mentioned in 75 percent of tracked conversations that social media users had about new ways to pay. This year, mobile payments are expected to reach $75 billion.

In case you’re exhausted by the other repeal-and-replace debate, consider this one. Jan Estep, President and CEO of NACHA, weighs in on the age old debate related to the evolution and revolution of payments: What rails do we need to transform the way we do business across the globe?

No good deed goes unpunished – especially if the good deed might not have been carried out exactly as described. PayPal is facing a potential class action lawsuit over the way the company handled charity donations via its PayPal Giving Fund. Let’s hope this doesn’t create an obstacle to charitable giving in the future.

Could blockchain technology offer a better way to track pork chops, bonds and bad peanut butter? If nothing else, this New York Times article provides an alternative framework for understanding how blockchain might be deployed in practical business applications – for instance, tracking goods throughout the supply chain.

Yeah okay, it’s time to go digital. But how will you actually accomplish this? Day 3 at THINK 17 will be all about becoming a digital organization – with expert help from David Rogers, author of “The Digital Transformation Playbook.” Learn more about digital transformation playbook day at THINK 17 – and about what it takes to transform into a digitally-driven organization.